Anchors Aweigh
by Dizzydodo
Summary: Pirate AU, Haru/Mako/Rin, Rei/Gisa/Tori. Rin and his crew encounter a thriving culture of pearl-hunters not inclined to part with their wealth. It would simplify affairs considerably if Haru weren't leading them. When Haru is captured by the pirates he loathes, he decides to make them pay for it. Everything backfires.


This was originally written as a kinkmeme prompt, though I think I might have gone a bit off course *Whistles guiltily*

Anyway, warning for polyamory and threesomes. The final pairings will be Haru/Mako/Rin and Rei/Nagisa/Nitori and Sei/Gou.

Also, smut in later chapters, and everyone is yandere until proven otherwise.

Cross-posted to AO3.

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Makoto smiled to himself when he heard what amounted to an indignant shriek from the upper deck, followed by several creative profanities that could only have come from the mouth of Rin. He curled into the covers of the captain's bed, hiding his smirk when the door was kicked in hard enough that he could feel the reverberations from where he lay.

"Makoto! Wake up!" For perversity's sake, Makoto fluttered his lids, stretching sensually and allowing the linens to fall away from his naked form; he smiled provocatively at his captain, leaning back against the bed in a way calculated to draw attention to the smooth shift of his muscles beneath pale skin.

"Is there something I can do for you, captain?" The tone was perfectly innocent, his eyes promised acts long since forbidden in the civilized world; one of the benefits of being aboard ship was that the captain's word was law, and given how much Rin benefited from his expertise, he wasn't likely to run into any trouble on that score.

Rin's glare was sharp, but he drew a deep breath and lowered his voice before speaking again. "Rei informs me the first mate gave him a heading of South by Southeast before turning in last night. I could swear I set him toward True North. Do you have any thoughts on that, _first mate_?"

Makoto smothered a chuckle at the unmistakable growl beneath the words, knowing full well he was immune from the captain's retribution. "I thought we might have better luck in the South; bright sun, warm waters… and I wanted to see the dolphins."

"The dolphins? I'll draw you a picture and you can keep it by your bedside if you stop countermanding my orders every time my back is turned!"

"Nagisa didn't think you would mind." Makoto rose from the bed, easily locating his neatly folded shirt and pants and shrugging into them quickly.

"Nagisa is a lunatic who enjoys fucking with me more than you do." Rin's eyes narrowed dangerously when Makoto slipped his arms around his waist, drawing him in for one last kiss before beginning his duties.

"I doubt that. Though as captain, if you feel any sort of discipline is necessary- you know I'm always available."

The quirk of Rin's lips assured him all was forgiven, if not forgotten.

"Land ho!"

Rin jerked away, already bolting for the door with his first mate following closely on his heels.

After the dimness of the cabin, the sunlight was blinding and Makoto shielded his eyes from the unforgiving glare, sharing a commiserating grin with Nagisa as they passed on deck. Lunatic he might be, but Nagisa was no fool; he had been the first to point out that there were resources to be had on any of a dozen micro islands scattered on a southerly heading. Rei had calculated the odds of finding a colony on one of those islands to be upwards of seventy percent… and colonies meant loot.

Rei was waiting for them at the bow, spyglass in hand. "Just off port, captain. I estimate the distance to be roughly ten point four three nautical-"

"Very good, Rei. How long until we can safely make land?"

"Assuming a good wind and tide, I estimate approximately a half-turn."

"Keep an eye out for any sign of settlements."

"Aye, sir."

Rin smiled widely, turning back to address the few crewmen scattered on deck. "Makoto, I'll be leading the shore party; the ship belongs to Rei until I return- take care with her. Nagisa, you will accompany me ashore; see if you can't find our good surgeon and we'll take him for a stroll too. We'll anchor away from the island, Makoto will see a dinghy prepared. All clear?"

"Aye, sir!"

"With any luck, we'll dine well tonight!"

The answering shout of approval was enough to bolster flagging spirits, and the crew set to preparing with a will, drawing a new strength from their captain's enthusiasm.

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As it turned out, neither wind nor tide were inclined to aid in the journey toward the island; Rei's half-turn soon became a full hour, and the crew's collective attitude became one of rapacious anticipation. Makoto was hard-pressed to keep all hands at work when every time he turned his back they began to drift aimlessly, faces brightening as land drew closer; the thought of winter doubtless played some part, no one had forgotten the harsh weather the year past or the days where even hardtack and grog would have been a welcome filling for empty stomachs. The closer they drew to shore, the more the island seemed a veritable paradise of golden sand and luscious greenery; they could re-supply here and be fit to sail for months to come.

Rin licked his lips, tasting salty brine and the tang of blood; though his bearing betrayed no hint of excitement, his smile was sharp with satisfaction. This would be the time to effect repairs and rest his crew for the trials to come. With Autumn slowly waning, storms had become more frequent of late, and while the _Samenoe_ was a sturdy and dependable ship, still she had endured her share of abuse. The Imperial navy would have no such damage to their ships, being permitted to dock at any port without fear of interference, and if they were not prepared to meet the threat of Imperial bounty hunters they could all end up dangling from the mainmast of an enemy's ship.

Makoto slipped up beside him, quiet as a cat, and Rin's hand flew to the hilt of his knife without thought only to be caught in a firm grip and pressed gently away. "He hasn't followed us. The horizons are clear in every direction; I think he must have been blown off course during that squall."

"You have an uncanny knack for divining my thoughts."

"I was nearly executed once for keeping a familiar spirit; it is nothing more than a thorough understanding of human nature."

"Damned uncanny, but I agree. We have time; provided the island seems safe I will permit a shore leave- I have neither the time nor the patience for a mutiny."

Makoto's chuckle was far from reassuring, "Give any mutineers to Nagisa for target practice."

"Or avoid the problem entirely by approving a shore leave."

"It is not the work they are objecting too, it is the lack of excitement. Our last successful raid gained us nothing more than a timid church-mouse for ship's surgeon."

"That's what he would like you to think. _I've_ seen the way he polishes his scalpels, and I tell you one day he will remember they are good for more than lancing wounds. Besides, I'm growing rather fond of him."

"I think you may be over-estimating him, but time will tell."

"Malpractice and conduct unbecoming an officer; there's a story there, and I'll have it out of him before the year is through. There are more important matters that weigh on me now, though; how are our stocks? Have you heard any stirrings of discontent among the hands?"

Makoto sighed softly, leaning back against the ship's side until it groaned ominously. "There is concern that Seijuurou may find us, and then there will be altogether too much excitement; the _Samenoe_ took a thorough beating last time, if she comes apart beneath our feet… well, she's not so bad as that, but there are a few minor repairs I would feel more comfortable making." Makoto shrugged, "No, I do not think you are truly in danger of mutiny now, the time for that was when Sei had us trapped between the currents and the storm-front; not one of them thought to seize the opportunity, but it goes without saying that every last one of them would sell you out in exchange for a pardon if Seijuurou thought to offer it."

"Then we had best ensure he cannot catch us. We'll need pitch and timber, but I don't think there will be any lack of that." Rin gazed out over the water to the clumped trees set back a ways from the shore.

"I don't think he'll be far behind."

"No." Rin muttered, "We should conclude our business here quickly; every moment I look out and don't see a trireme looming in the distance comes as a surprise. I thought he would have run us down as soon as the storm passed. If he were to catch us at anchor, we would be no match for his forces."

"I don't think Nagisa would agree with you, and Rei knows routes the imperials would not dare to take. Even should they come, we have a respectable chance at escape." Makoto paused to eye the shoreline, calculating its distance from the ship, "We're near enough now, I suggest we make our way to the dinghy."

"By all means, let's be off."

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Nagisa glanced back to the captain and first mate, both seemingly absorbed in their conversation near the aft-end of the ship. Perfect, that left him at least a little longer to dabble with his favorite crewman.

He glided swiftly across the deck to Rei, taking in the man's rigid stance and worried gaze; it was a failing of everyone aboard this ship that they could not help but to take everything deathly serious. Rei, at least, had him to lighten the mood.

Rei started when he felt the lithe body pressed to his back; Nagisa's warm skin sent a bolt of pleasure through him, but there was work to be done and he studiously ignored the prying fingers determined to seek out every bit of exposed skin.

Nagisa ran his palms suggestively over Rei's coat, up his back and down again over his ribcage; "What are we watching for?" Had he been only an inch or so taller he would have pressed his mouth to that reddening ear, traced his tongue along the curve of it.

"The captain has given orders that I am to watch for any signs of life; seeing this place… it's hard to believe there _wouldn't_ be a colony of some sort."

"Hmm." Nagisa allowed his hands to drift lower, over his lover's hips, down his calves… Rei jumped as though scalded, giving him a reproving look only slightly diminished by the charming blush spreading over his high cheekbones.

"I don't see anything, and since I'm going to be gone so long-"

"A few hours at most."

"I think you owe it to me to make up for all the time we're going to lose."

"This…this is neither the time nor the place." Rei took a step backward, careful to keep Nagisa in his sights.

"We have a few minutes more-"

"Approximately ten until we can lower the dinghy."

"Then let's take this to my quarters-"

"Captain Rin gave orders that I was to keep watch!" Nagisa could see Rei's sense of duty battling with his selfishness; he considered it _his_ duty to encourage Rei's occasional moments of selfishness.

Nagisa shrugged for all the world as though Rei's refusal didn't bother him. "You're right I suppose." He could see his lover begin to relax, the tension leaving his shoulders and the blush slowly receding from his face- that simply wouldn't do.

He moved faster than the eye could follow, darting forward to hook an leg behind Rei's knee and pull him off balance, shoving him easily onto the railing. "I guess we'll just have to stay up here so you can keep watch."

"Nagisa! That is not-" Oh my, he _was _blushing; Nagisa followed the spreading color down Rei's neck, making quick work of the buttons Rei insisted on closing all the way to the top of his throat. Probably because he did not like the rest of the crew to see the marks Nagisa left on his pale skin each night; Nagisa however, drew a great deal of satisfaction from seeing the open jealousy on the faces of the crew, and truth be told he was more than a little angry Rei continued to hide the evidence of his possession away.

He bit down roughly at the join of neck and jaw, delighting in Rei's shrill gasp; pity he wouldn't have the time to see just how far that blush had spread, but he could hear Makoto approaching and Rin would not be far behind.

Nagisa pulled back, straightening Rei's clothes before the navigator had even regained his balance, slanting a glare at him when his slender fingers rose to clasp the buttons up his neck again. "Leave it. I intend to finish this as soon as I return. I don't want any of _them_ forgetting it." He gestured to the sailors on deck, all pretending they hadn't seen anything that had transpired.

Rei nodded, blushing hotter if that was possible. He was irresistible in these shy moods, and Nagisa was reminded of the sheltered young man he had been when he first boarded the ship, so eager to prove himself and willing to be debauched.

Nagisa allowed a final kiss, grinning when Rei ran a carefully tended fingernail down his spine until he arched into the other man's body. Oh yes, Rei had always been a quick-study, and for all his soft blushes and vociferous protests there was a mind every bit as cunning and a need every bit as sharp beneath his unruffled facade.

"Wait for me." Nagisa whispered.

"Yes, sir."

"If the two of you are finished fucking around, there's an island waiting to be explored, provisions to gather, repairs to make and why the hell hasn't someone fetched Nitori?" Rin snapped.

"I'll do it!" Nagisa crowed, scuttling off below-deck to fetch their reluctant healer.

Rin turned to smirk at Rei, "I'll bring him back in one piece, Rei, or more likely the reverse."

Rei nodded firmly, turning back to scan the horizon once more.

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The first touch of soft sand after months of nothing but the hard deck beneath their feet was enough to make Nitori give a little skip of joy, worried frown giving way to a smile. Rin raised a quelling brow, but Makoto only smiled indulgently, kneading his toes in the warmth subtly.

"Do we part ways to cover more ground? Rei reports no sign of life." Nagisa's internal struggle to stay still was almost a palpable presence; Makoto shared a glance with Rin, the two communicating far more efficiently in silence.

"Nitori is with me; Nagisa, you will accompany Makoto to the east."

"I'd rather go west." Nagisa's plea was dangerously close to a petulant whine, and Rin's patience had already been worn perilously thin.

"The only damn reason you want to go west is because I ordered you to go east, and east you will go or I will feed you to the first shark I see!"

"Aye, sir!" Nagisa snapped a crisp salute, for all the world as though he hadn't just been ready to raise hell over a simple matter like the direction his party would take. His grin was too self-satisfied by half, and Rin made a mental note to assign him galley duty sometime in the very near future; an afternoon scrubbing pots might be just the thing to make him appreciate what freedom he did have. Then again, perhaps it would be better not to put ideas into his head with all those knives and sharp implements lying around unguarded.

"Nitori?"

The ship's surgeon jumped, spinning quickly. "You're sure this place is uninhabited?" His voice was subdued, as always, but there was an urgency in it that was uncharacteristic of the manling.

"Rei said so; he doesn't make mistakes." Nagisa's voice was flat and nothing short of a threat.

"What makes you ask, Nitori?" Makoto seemed to have appointed himself the protector of the surgeon for the time being, and fortunate for him- Nagisa's glare was downright murderous.

"It's only that… I thought I might have seen movement, I'm sure I was mistaken." Nitori added hastily.

"It comes as no surprise; in a paradise like this, there will be no lack of game. If we're lucky, we may find something other than fish for supper, eh?" Makoto stepped over to Nagisa, one work-roughened hand closing about his forearm to pull him away. "We'll rendezvous at this point in a couple hours, captain?"

Rin nodded, searching the area Nitori had been eyeing. The surgeon was a little timid at times, but he wasn't given to exaggeration or daydreams.

"Two hours precisely, mark it."

Makoto dragged Nagisa away, the latter still scowling over his shoulder at a distracted Nitori.

"I know I saw something, and it was far too big to be game."

"A boar, perhaps?" Rin murmured, setting off along the shoreline; he wasn't comfortable entering the shadowed expanse of forest before them until he knew for a certainty nothing was waiting to descend on their unprotected heads.

"It's possible, but it seemed too fast for-"

"Those little bastards aren't slow. Rei nearly lost his leg to one the year before last, didn't even notice it until it was right on top of him."

Nitori's eyes widened, "He fought it off?"

"Nagisa is a very good shot-something you would do well to remember- he took it through the eye before it could clamp its jaws shut. We managed to stretch the leftovers for nearly a month, and I think Rei took a greater than average pleasure in devouring it."

Nitori giggled nervously and Rin clapped him roughly on the shoulder, pushing him to move a little faster. "We have a lot of ground to cover, save your breath for walking."

"Yes. Yes, of course. Rin?"

"Hm?"

"There are supplies I need in sickbay; catgut, lye-"

"I can't remember the last time someone entered your domain; I know you brought supplies aboard with you, where have they gone if you have not been using them on the crew?"

Nitori refused to even acknowledge the question, and Rin was half-tempted to threaten him with a keel-hauling, but there was really no telling how Nitori might react when threatened. Certainly, the first time he had agreed to board a pirate's vessel and sign his life away as ship's surgeon, but there was that time Nakamura had gone into his sickbay perfectly healthy looking for a scrap of fresh meat and emerged hours later sobbing with fear and swearing he was a changed man.

Better not to push Nitori for answers until he knew the young man's history. Rin cast a surreptitious glance in his direction and was met with a beatific smile; thank all the gods the boy had some affection for him, Rin genuinely pitied the bastard that thought him a weakling, if he was feeling merciful, he might tell Nagisa as much before they went back to the ship.

Or maybe that was something he should learn on his own.

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Nanase Haruka watched the invaders from the shadows of the tree-line, drew back swiftly when the red-haired one glanced directly at him, locking eyes for a split second. The ship was unfamiliar to him; he was certain it had never been in these waters before, but he knew the type- crafted for speed over any other consideration, its crew heavily armed with an assortment of close and mid-range weaponry… that meant corsairs.

No matter, his people had been forced to repel daring raiders many times these past few years; every season saw more of them visiting this little island paradise, and every one of them reluctant to leave empty-handed after they had seen the wealth it had to offer. The decision now was whether he should confront them directly, offer whatever supplies they might need in exchange for their hasty leave-taking, or if subterfuge was the wisest course of action.

He watched the red-haired one moving away, back turned to him; that one was doubtless the captain, he had seen the others incline their heads in deference, watched the way they unconsciously leaned toward him to hear his words. If he intended to make an appeal, he would have to address himself first to that one; alternatively, if a warning was in order, the captain should logically be his first target.

Haruka leaned back against a tree, its rough bark abraded his sensitive skin; truly it was sheer luck he had been here in time to witness the arrival of this newest threat. On any other day he would have delayed his swim until the evening when the harsh sunlight would not punish his pale skin for long hours spent in the cool water, but a growing sense of restlessness had pulled him to the shore before he'd even realized where his legs were carrying him.

Tugging thoughtfully at the strand of pearls looped about his wrist, Haru moved farther back into the forest toward his village. There was no reasoning with pirates; profit and violence were the only languages they comprehended, and so they must be addressed in like terms. He would return with reinforcements, and pass down an ultimatum they could not fail to understand.

If these pirates chose to ignore an honestly given warning, they would do so at their own peril. Tables could be turned, the odds evened- ships could even be scuttled with adequate preparation.

Immeasurably comforted by the thought, Haru drifted between dappled shade and sunlight, already laying the groundwork of a plan sure to send these parasites scuttling from his home with nothing more than what they already possessed.

And if they had a little less, well, they should be grateful to have fewer worldly goods to burden their tarnished consciences.


End file.
